Trust and Abandonment
by Dreamer13
Summary: An alternative ending the Pearl Harbor. HAS A SURPRISE AT THE END. See if you can guess and please tell me if you did in the review box.


Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me... though I wouldn't mind owning some of them!  
  
Trust and Abandonment  
  
Shielding his eyes against the bright sun, stepping from the plane, he searched the waiting crowd for her. Knowing, in his heart, that she was there. Ever since he'd met her, he'd known they had this connection, something deeper than lust...deeper than love. It was as if their very beings were linked. Though he could still feel the sharp hole in his heart from his best friend's death, she helped to fill it. He'd heard the term "soul mates" before. He'd even hoped to find his. But that term, it sounded so superficial to his feelings for her. Their connection was so much deeper than that. He felt certain that no one who'd ever had this feeling could chalk it up to "puppy love" or "lust."   
  
Now, glancing across the barren runway, he saw her face- her beautiful, glowing face that had kept him alive and made him lose his best friend again. Though he hated to even think it, this death made it easier, and that's what he would have wanted. He would have wanted them together. That's what he said before he died, after all. He'd told him to take care of her. Again.  
  
Having seen her face, he couldn't bear to look again. Though he felt sure in his soul that she already knew, he couldn't bring himself to confirm it. She'd know in a moment. Reaching behind him to grasp the edge of the coffin, lifting it and stepping down further, he finally met her gaze. As they brought his body further and further down the steps her eyes became more and more moist. He knew she wouldn't cry, though. Not here. As he saw her lift her chin, almost defiantly, he caught something else in her eyes, a new emotion. Fear.  
  
Reaching the bottom of the stairs and laying to rest the coffin, the soldiers lined up, instinctively snapping to attention. Expecting to be reprimanded for their tears, the rest of the men quickly straightened up, some successfully stemming the flow, most failing. Alone at the end of the line, staring straight ahead, his mind was locked on one thing: Evelyn. He was the only one who hadn't cried, refused to cry, though he'd been the closest to their fallen pilot. He had not, however, spoken a word to anyone.   
  
Watching as a medal was placed on the coffin, he felt the first twinge of emotion in him that he's felt since it happened. This was what he'd always wanted- to protect his friend. And he'd died while doing it. Now, in death, he was being honored. For doing what came naturally to him his whole life.  
  
As the coffin was lifted onto the shoulders of six young pilots and carried away, he felt a sudden longing to be back in China, surrounded and facing death, just to be able to see his face again. As the coffin disappeared from sight, the ragged line of pilots turned to face the waiting crowd, who, as one, saluted them. Finally breaking their formation, they ran toward the crowd, rushing in to meet with their loved ones and mourn the dead. But, for him, tonight would not be a night to mourn. He had mourned enough, and tonight would be a celebration of life.   
  
Stumbling forward trough the press of bodies, he used his height advantage to search for Evelyn, who'd been jostled sideways in the sudden rush. Turning left and right, he became desperate, for he'd lost sight of her face, the thing that was keeping him together. And then, she was there. Directly in front of him. Standing perfectly still, waiting for him to come to her, as she'd known he would. No longer was her face clouded by fear, it was perfectly blank. And as he dashed forward to embrace her, their expressions matched completely, trust and relief mixed with pure love. Pulling away to look up at him, she whispered softly, "I knew you'd come back to me...Danny."  
  
What do you think? Did you figure it out? If you go back and read it again, you'll catch several hints! PLEASE REVIEW!!! I worked hard on this, so even if you didn't like it, PLEASE review. It only takes a second!  



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